You Never Knew
by PrussianWaffles
Summary: Gilbert and Elizaveta just want to spend a relaxing afternoon together, but they're constantly interrupted by family and friends. Elizaveta has no idea why, but Gilbert seams to understand just why they're all visiting him. He's certainly keeping something to himself that everyone else knows about but her.
1. Chapter 1

"Gilbert! Come on!" Elizaveta yelled as she banged on the front door to his house. The sun was warm and already high in the sky. Elizaveta put her ear to the door and listened as Gilbert stumbled down the stairs and seemed to trip on the way to the door. She stood up straight as she stifled a laugh and Gilbert threw open the front door. He had on simple black pants and a white dress shirt. Elizaveta thought that he was a little overdressed for a picnic, but she wasn't about to complain. It was nice to see Gilbert clean up for once.

"I'm here!" he yelled, breathing heavily. It was clear that he had run from upstairs, probably just throwing on his pants as he ran down the stairs. He was never good at keeping on time, or getting himself out of bed for that matter. "You look nice." He said. Elizaveta turned a light red and tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear. "It's nice to see you dressed like a lady for a change." Gilbert chuckled and smiled at her. Though she objected, Elizaveta had agreed (after much begging from Gilbert) to wear something nice. Bella lent her a pale yellow sundress and match hat since Elizaveta didn't own any dresses besides her green cleaning dress.

"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself." She said, winking. "You did remember to back a picnic basket, right?" Elizaveta noticed that Gilbert's hands were empty as he glanced at the floor. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Come on." She said. "I'm helping you." Grabbing Gilbert's arm, she dragged him into the kitchen where an empty basket lay open on the dark table. The kitchen was light and smelled like it had been used recently, the scent of bratwursts still lingering in the air. She walked over to the fridge and threw the door open. "What do you want to bring?" she asked as the look over her shoulder at Gilbert. He walked up behind her and peered over her shoulder.

"Uhm…that leftover cake looks good." He said as he pulled out cake. He set it on the counter as Elizaveta shook her head.

"You do know that you need more in a lunch than just cake, right?" she reached into the fridge and pulled out a loaf of bread, turkey, ham, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and butter. She kicked the door closed with her foot and brought everything over to Gilbert. "I'm going to assume that you know how to make a sandwich?"

"Of course I know how to make a sandwich!" he replied, laughing.

"Good." Elizaveta replied. She took the glass cover off of the butter dish and opened the loaf of bread, setting four slices down and passing two of them over to Gilbert. She buttered each of her own slices before sliding the dish across the table to Gilbert, handing him the knife. He grabbed it and cut off a slab of butter, spreading it on the bread and making a mess all over the table. "Gilbert! You took far too much!" Elizaveta sighed and snatched back the knife. She placed it in the sink and tossed him a roll of paper towels. "Clean up the butter." Gilbert just shrugged as he began to wipe the grease off of the table.

"I was just doing it the awesome way, but if you want to do it your own way then fine." Elizaveta just sighed and returned to making her sandwich. Turkey, lettuce, tomato, cheese, onions. Gilbert finished cleaning up after himself and tossed the paper towels into the open trash can, missing the shot, but leaving the towel on the floor to clean up later. He grabbed a handful of turkey and threw it onto the slice of bread without butter and reached for the block of cheese, but Elizaveta stopped him before he could grab it.

"I'm going to help you with that. Don't want you to cut your finger off."

"Oh come on, Lizzie. I'm not going to cut off my finger. I'm too awesome for that!"

"Sure you are, sweetie. Now come here and let mommy show you how to cut cheese." Gilbert mumbled something and walked over to where she was standing. She put the knife in his hand and moved behind him, taking his arm and placing it on top of the block.

"Is this necessary, Lizzie? I feel like a little kid again."

"Of course it is." She replied. "Now, you do it like this." She held the hand that he had on the knife's handle, and placed her other hand on the opposite end, just near the tip of the blade, pushing down on it so that it slid through the cheese nice and smoothly, making a clean, even slice. She tossed it towards his slices of bread on the other end of the table. Gilbert went over and put it on the dry slice of bread. "You want some help with anything else?"

"No, I can do it." He stuck out his tongue and grabbed a tomato. "See?" he slid the knife through it with ease, but the resulting slice was uneven and juice got all over the table, but Gilbert, being Gilbert, pretended not to notice and proudly slapped the tomato on top of the cheese. Elizaveta resisted the urge to correct him and just make the sandwich herself. If wanted to do it, then he could do it, even if the result was demented and messy. Gilbert picked up the head of lettuce and ripped off far too much. "I ment to do that." He said, putting some on his sandwich and tossing the rest into Gilbrid's cage. The small yellow chick flapped down to the bottom of the cage where the leafy vegetable lay and began to peck at it, chirping happily.

"Is he supposed to be eating lettuce?" Elizaveta asked. Gilbert didn't even glace up from what he was doing.

"I don't know. I don't think it'll do anything. West gives him bratwurst sometimes, so lettuce should be fine." Elizaveta didn't really know much about birds, but she was pretty sure that you weren't supposed to feed little birds meat or lettuce. Shaking her head, she packed up her sandwich and the cake that had been sitting on the counter. Gilbert smacked the top slice of bread onto the top of his sandwich and held it in front of her face, not caring about the juice dripping onto the floor. "Ha!" he yelled. "I made a sandwich! Told you I could!" he quickly wrapped his sandwich in plastic and threw it carelessly into the basket.

"Yup. That's a sandwich." She glanced into the basket and set some napkins inside. "If your sandwich gets squished, I'm not sharing mine."


	2. Chapter 2

Gilbert stuck his tongue out at her as he grabbed a few bottles of beer and gently set them in the basket next to the cake. Elizaveta sighed again, knowing that there would be no changing Gilbert's mind when it came to beer. He lived on the salty stuff and there was no point in arguing. Besides, she didn't mind a beer herself every once in a while. It wasn't like alcohol could hurt her. "You ready to go now? Is there anything else you _think_ we need before going out?"

"I kind of _know _that we needed to bring food. It's a picnic, after all. What were you planning to eat, the grass?" she fastened the top of the basket closed and held the handles in the crook of her elbow. "But yes, I'm ready now. You're the one that was late, might I remind you."

"Awesomeness takes time, Lizzie."

"Awesomeness is throwing on a shirt and questionably clean pair of pants before falling down the stairs?"

"…yes." Gilbert's face turned bright red. He looked straight ahead and led her from the kitchen, holding open the front door for her.

"Thank you, sir." She smiled and stepped out onto the porch into the sun. The air was scented with a hint of fresh flowers. Gilbert stepped out behind her and gently pulled the door closed. He took her small hand in his own rather large ones and pulled Elizaveta down the porch steps. "In a hurry?" she asked, grabbing onto her hat as it began to fly off of her head from being pulled down stairs. "We're just going to lunch."

"I know," he said. "But we already wasted so much time, and I want to spend the rest of the day with you." Smiling, her led her down the sidewalk, pausing for a moment or two every once in a while so greet the neighbors. They seemed to be a bit quieter than usual, but still waved at Gilbert and Elizaveta when they passed by. All the lawns were neatly kept and a few had a nice birdbath filled with sparkling water, songbirds chirping with joy as they shook water off of their feathers.

"The birds seem happy today." She smiled. It was nice to spend some time alone with Gilbert for a change. Roderich was too stuffy and prissy. He never would have agreed to spend time at the park, on the ground, in the dirt. He'd much rather have her listen to his piano playing before taking her out to some expensive restaurant where they would be serenaded with more songs on the piano. Elizaveta was surprised that he hadn't married that instrument by now. She glanced up at Gilbert's bright face.

"Yeah, they do." He said. "I wonder why." That last comment confused Elizaveta a bit, but she just shrugged it off and kept walking with him.

After a bit more walking, the pair ran into Arthur and Francis walking in the opposite direction.

"Bonjour, Gilbert. Elizaveta." The Frenchman smiled at them.

"Guten Tag, Francis. Arthur. What are you two doing here?" Gilbert said. It was strange to see the two so far inland for no reason. Arthur answered first.

"We just wanted to take a nice walk. The weather at home is dreadful, but you got a nice bit of sun."

"Oui." Francis said. He put a hand on Gilbert's shoulder and made eye contact with him for a moment. A very serious moment. Elizaveta had no idea what was going on, but noticed Arthur staring at Gilbert as well. Their green and blue eyes staring deeply into Gilbert's red ones. After a while, Arthur broke the silence.

"You two take care now. Good day." He took Francis' hand and the two walked off down the sidewalk, never looking back. Elizaveta glanced at Gilbert and saw that he was staring at the two leave.

"You're not staring at their asses are you?" she laughed. Gilbert seemed to snap out of his trance.

"What? No! Francis is one of my best friends!" he said. Elizaveta noticed how defensive he was acting, so she just took his hand in her own and led him further down the road.


	3. Chapter 3

They made one more right turn and found themselves standing at a swirling metal gate opening up into a bright park with soft green grass. There were colorful flowers all around the fenced area, and a great, strong tree sitting atop a sunlit hill. A butterfly flew right in front on Gilbert's face and he dropped Elizaveta's hand to chase it.

Elizaveta watched him run around in circles and jump up and down, trying to catch the fragile insect.

"Gilbert!" she laughed. "You aren't going to catch the poor thing, just leave it alone!" she set down the picnic basket and chased after him, smiling.

"No way, Lizzie!" he called over his shoulder. "I'm not stopping until I catch it!" he ran faster and Elizaveta had to speed up just to keep behind him. Gilbert really wanted to catch that butterfly, and nothing was going to stop him until he did. He was stubborn like that.

"Well," Elizaveta began, "you come up on top of the hill with me when you catch that thing. I'll be waiting." Gilbert nodded and Elizaveta walked back over to the gates that they had just come in, picking up the basket and wandering over to the base of the hill. From down here, the sun reflected off of each leaf covering the tree's twisting branches and made them sparkle. Elizaveta smiled to herself and began climbing the hill. She reached the top and for a moment she just stood in the sun, letting the wind ruffle her dress and hair. She inhaled deeply though her nose, taking in the different scents around her and simply enjoying nature.

Setting the basket down carefully, she sat down next to it. She ran her hands through the grass. It was soft and thick and warm. A few strands came out in her fingers, and she held one between her thumbs, making sure it was taught. She blew forcefully into it, making the grass screech loudly. She giggled, not having done this since she was a child. Roderich certainly wouldn't approve of her immature behavior, but there was something about today that made her want to be a kid again. She couldn't explain it.

"Lizzie!" Gilbert yelled from right behind her. He had snuck up when she was distracted. Elizaveta jumped and turned around.

"Gilbert! Don't scare me like that!" she yelled!

"Sorry Lizzie, but look!" he said. His smile was so wide it looked like his mouth would just split, and there was a childish pride in his eyes as he opened his clamped hands. A small, white butterfly gently fluttered out of his palms and off into the afternoon sky. "I caught it." Elizaveta watched the small creature float off into the distance until it was nothing more than a tiny white speck by the fence.

"Nice job, Gilbert. I didn't think you'd be able to catch it." She said, smiling at him. The look of pure joy on his face was priceless. All this because of one little butterfly. Gilbert never really did grow up; he just got older. Elizaveta couldn't help but giggle at him as his silver hair fell into his face. "You hungry yet?" Gilbert just snickered.

"No, you're Hungary." He said, poking her in the shoulder.

"Haha," she mocked. "you're so funny. Seriously, do you want food or not?"She unlatched the lid on the picnic basket and held out his sandwich. The tomato had almost soaked through the plastic, and the whole thing was a soggy mess, but Gilbert snatched it from her happily anyway.

"Finally! I'm starving." He said as he pulled the plastic off his sandwich. Elizaveta reached back into the basket and threw some napkins at his feet.

"You're going to want those…" she said and pulled out her own sandwich, still neatly wrapped in plastic and not at all soggy. She opened it and took a large bite out of the side. "Mmmm." She smiled.

"Lizzie, how the fuck did yours stay so dry?" he asked as he wiped the excess of tomato juice from around his mouth onto his sleeve.

"I've done this before, and now you're sleeve is all dirty." She pointed to the stain on his arm. "It's such a nice shirt too…" she grabbed a napkin and pulled Gilbert's arm over to her, trying to wipe at the stain. It was stubborn and her excessive rubbing didn't do much to take it off, but it did dry off Gilbert's arm a little. She sighed and sat back down, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"Ya know," Gilbert said with his mouth full, "this isn't half bad for a sandwich soaked in tomato juice." He shoved the last half of it into what little space was still available in his mouth. He swallowed and grabbed a beer. "Makes it easier to eat more at one time." Elizaveta chuckled.

"Of course that would be your first concern." She said as she grabbed a beer of her own. The two popped off the caps, but before they had the chance to drink any, Antonio and Lovino came running up the hill to meet them.

"Gilbert! Elizaveta! Hola!" Antonio yelled to them, waving like a madman. He had no trouble at all running up the hill, but Lovino was further behind, breathing heavily.

"You bastard, slow down!" he yelled, but the Spaniard did listen. He just ran up to Gilbert and Elizaveta without even breaking a sweat. Lovino managed to catch up, but when he reached the top, he threw himself to the ground, gasping for air. He wasn't the fittest man on the planet.

"Ciao…" he gasped. Elizaveta was confused as to why all of their friends from the coasts were so far inland today, but she didn't complain. It was nice to see them. Antonio crouched down to where Lovino was panting and helped the Italian sit up, laughing the whole time.

"You should really get into shape, Lovi." He said. "It'll make things a lot easier." Lovino just coughed at him. Antonio chuckled one last time and faced Gilbert. "How are things going, amigo?" he asked him. Gilbert smiled, but it wasn't his usual smile. He seemed a bit nervous.

"Everything's fine. What brings you two here?" he asked. Lovino stopped panting just long enough to answer.

"We just wanted to say hi. Got a problem?" he looked past Gilbert to Elizaveta. "Oh, and ciao Elizaveta." he added. She just nodded at him, watching Antonio and Gilbert exchange stares. All at once, Antonio stood up to leave.

"Well, nice seeing the two of you." He said. He grabbed Lovino by the arm and yanked him to his feet. "Ready to go?" he asked. Lovino stuck his tongue out in Antonio's face. "I'm going to take that as a no." he laughed and lifted Lovino up into his arms. "I'll see you later, Gilbert!" he called back as he ran down the hill with Lovino in his arms.

Gilbert watched them go and took a swig of his beer.

"Antonio's crazy." He mumbled.


	4. Chapter 4

Elizaveta just took a drink from her own bottle and didn't say anything. She found it strange that four of their friends from the coast had come so far inland just to say hello to Gilbert. Something was definitely going on, but she knew that Gilbert wouldn't tell her anything, even if she asked him to, so she just let the topic drop and tried to start a new conversation.

"How's the beer?" she asked. Gilbert nodded in her direction since his mouth was full. "Okaay. Do you want some cake, then?" she set down her cold beer and picked up the cake from the basket. It was squished a bit from being under the sandwiches and napkins, but it would still taste the same. Gilbert nodded, so Elizaveta set the plate down and grabbed two more napkins and a small cake knife. She carefully pulled off the plastic and grabbed a napkin. "Hold out your hand." She told Gilbert. He did as she asked and Elizaveta put the napkin in his open palm.

"Why am I holding my hand out exactly?" he asked, confused. Elizaveta didn't say anything, she just cut a piece from the cake and plopped it onto the napkin in Gilbert's hand.

"That's what it's for." She said and picked up her own napkin and placing her own slice of cake on it. "We forgot plates, so napkins will have to do." Gilbert watched her wrap the cake in her napkin and take a bite from it like a candy bar or something in a wrapper. Gilbert shrugged and did the same thing. When he looked back up at Elizaveta, she just laughed at him.

"What?" he asked accusingly.

"You have chocolate icing all over your face!"

"I do?" He reached up to wipe it on his sleeve again, but Elizaveta stopped him.

"I'll get it." She said and grabbed a clean napkin to wipe Gilbert's face off with. She licked it and scrubbed at his cheeks.

"L-lizzie, I can get it!" Gilbert yelled and tried to push her hand away. Elizaveta just pushed against his face harder.

"Gilbert, just let me get it!" she yelled back. He tried to push her off again, so she pushed back against him even harder.

"Lizzie!" he yelled as she pushed him onto his back. Elizaveta was now on top of Gilbert.

"Ha! Now hold still!" she told him. He gave in and let her wipe everything off of his face. When she seemed satisfied with herself, she got off of Gilbert and sat across from him with a smug look on her face.

"You know, Lizzie," Gilbert began. "You may have gotten all of the icing off of my face, but you've got a bit on your own, right in the corner of your mouth."

"I do?" Elizaveta went to reach up to her own mouth, but Gilbert leaned in and stopped her.

"I got it." He said and leaned in even closer. Before Elizaveta could say anything else about the matter, Gilbert kissed her. His lips were rough against her soft, pink ones. Elizaveta's eyes opened wide in surprise, but after a moment, she returned the kiss, placing one hand on the back of his neck. Gilbert pulled away and looked her straight in the eyes. "Ich liebe dich, Elizaveta." He whispered.

"Én is szeretlek, Gilbert." She whispered back and kissed him once more. Elizaveta felt her cheeks turn red at admitting her feelings for Gilbert, but she didn't care. Not one bit. This time, it was her that pulled back, smiling. "I would be happy to spend the rest of my days with you, Gilbert." She told him.

"Your wish is my command." Gilbert said and winked at her. "It's getting late though."

"Walk me home?" Elizaveta held out her hand to Gilbert and he pulled her to her feet.

"Of course." He said. The two put the cake and beer bottles back into the picnic basket and began the trek back down the hill. When they reached the gate, Gilbert leaned down and plucked a big, pink flower from the garden. "For you." He said, holding it out to Elizaveta. She smiled and placed it behind her ear.

"Thank you, Gilbert." She whispered. He took her hand in his again and led her down the street. "You remember where I live, right?" Elizaveta asked.

"Of course I do," Gilbert began "I would never forget."

They walked for a while longer, all the way back to Elizaveta's house in Hungary, and Gilbert led her up the front steps onto the porch. He sat down and pointed out across the yard and into the sky.

"Look." Elizaveta turned to where he was pointing to see the sun setting in a mess of pinks and yellows, oranges and purples. Gilbert pulled her into his lap.

"It's the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen, Gilbert." She sighed. Gilbert chuckled.

"Yeah?" he asked. "Well, I don't need a sunset when I have the most beautiful thing in my arms right now." Elizaveta's cheeks were filled with color and she smiled at him, his crimson eyes sparkling in the last hint of light. As the last light of the day disappeared behind the horizon, Elizaveta and Gilbert stood, facing each other.

"Goodnight." She whispered.

"Goodnight." He replied. The two leaned in and kissed one more time before Gilbert let her go inside. He started down the steps and began the long hike back to his own home.


	5. Chapter 5

Everything was finally going right for him.

"Gilbert." A voice said. Gilbert couldn't see who it was in the dark, but the voice seemed to come from behind him. He turned around slowly to see Roderich standing there below a street lamp.

"What do you want, Roderich?" Gilbert asked harshly. What was he doing all the way in Hungary this late?

"You haven't told her, have you? She doesn't know, does she?" Roderich asked with accusation in his voice.

"No, I haven't told her." Gilbert sighed.

"She needs to know."

"She'll find out soon enough."

"Tomorrow."

"That's soon."

"She'll be heartbroken!" Roderich was yelling now. "You can't not tell her something this huge! You've let her get close to you, and you know full well about what will happen tomorrow! If you'd be willing to hide something this huge, then you don't really love her!" Gilbert ran up to Roderich and slapped him hard across the face, knocking his glasses onto the sidewalk. Before Roderich could retrieve his glasses, Gilbert grabbed him by the collar.

"Don't you ever say that again, Roderich. I don't care about what's happening tomorrow, and I don't care about your opinion on the matter of telling Elizaveta about it or not, but she means everything to me, and I refuse to have you saying otherwise." Gilbert threw Roderich away from him. "Now get the hell away from me." Gilbert turned back around sharply and walked off, leaving Roderich on the sidewalk. The Austrian calmly picked up his glasses, stood up, and wiped them on his jacket. He placed them back on his upturned nose and stalked off to his own house.

When Gilbert got home, he stomped up the stairs to his porch and threw open the door, slamming it behind him and flicking on the hall light. He turned to Gilbird.

"You know what Gilbird?" he asked. "Fuck Roderich, fuck tomorrow, fuck everything!" he kicked off his shoes and grumbled all the way up the stairs into his bedroom. There wasn't anything that he could do; tomorrow was coming and that was that. Gilbert didn't even bother to change. She yanked off his socks and climbed under his Prussian blue blankets. He might as well greet tomorrow in something nice anyway.


	6. Chapter 6

Tomorrow came quickly. Elizaveta woke up early to the sound of rain pitter pattering against her widow and a gray sky beyond. She sighed and sat up, stretching. She got up and made a quick stop in the bathroom, brushing her teeth and hair, before returning to her bedroom and looking through the closet. She couldn't wear Bella's dress again, so she looked in the way back of her closet for anything else she might own that was nicer. Elizaveta wanted to see Gilbert again, and he seemed to like her in a dress.

Her hand brushed something soft that she didn't remember having. The pulled it out and found a black, long sleeved dress with a matching headband on the hanger.

"It'll do." She said. "It certainly matches the weather outside." She slipped out of her night dress and grabbed a clean bra and a pair of panties from her dresser, changing into the fresh ones. She gently pulled the black dress off of the hanger and put it on over her head. She grabbed the headband and slipped it on as well. She looked at herself in the mirror. It was strange to see herself in so much black, but she thought she looked nice.

Elizaveta turned to her nightstand and reached for the pink flower that Gilbert had given her yesterday. She had set it on her nightstand before she went to bed, and she wanted to wear it again today. Picking it up, Elizaveta noticed that it had faded and wilted. It shouldn't have died so much in one night, but she just slipped it behind her headband anyway.

She walked carefully down the stairs and grabbed the keys to her car as the passed the table in the entryway. She stepped outside and gently closed the front door behind her, locking it. She stalled on the porch, looking out over the yard and across the street, remembering her night with Gilbert. She had never been happier than she was last night. The rain had stopped, leaving a gray mist hovering over the ground. The sky was still gray and gloomy, but the air was warm. Elizaveta smiled and breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of the storm and the pleasant aroma it left behind. She thought that Gilbert would enjoy the smell as well, and remember that she had wanted to go see him.

She jumped off the porch and walked over to her car. As she went to open the driver's side door, she noticed that the front tire had been slashed and was flat. She walked around to the back to find that those tires had too been slashed open, long cashes in the rubber. The passenger side tire was torn open as well, leaving Elizaveta with four useless tires and no spares. She sighed.

"Well," she said. "Looks like I'll be walking to Gilbert's." Elizaveta placed the keys under a rock in her garden so she could find them when she returned home. She set off, the mist dampening her legs, but she didn't mind. Regardless of the surrounding gray, she found the day to be beautiful. Delicate drops of water hung from the tips of leaves and petals of flowers that caught the light, making the plants shine in the little sun that shone through the heavy clouds. The little drops would fall from their resting spot and land in a puddle below the plant they had been hanging from and a new droplet would take its place, extending the rim of the puddle bit by tiny bit.

After a while of walking, she entered Gilbert's neighborhood. Things were quiet. Quieter than usual. Everyone took after Gilbert and would usually be outside talking or just making noise. Today there was no one. The yards were abandoned and the houses seemed to be empty. The birds and their song lacked from the tree branches about Elizaveta's head, and even the chattering of the occasional squirrel was missed. It was as if everyone and everything had simply gotten up and left during the night.

She rounded a corner and walked down Gilbert's street. It looked just like the rest of the neighborhood until she pressed on and noticed something in Gilbert's yard extending into the street in front of the house. Lights. A bunch of little lights. They appeared to be floating in midair, trying to break through the gloom of the mist and gray and illuminate the street with the small amount of light that they could offer. As Elizaveta got closer, she realized that the lights weren't floating. They were white candles, and each one was being held by a nation. She saw Ivan standing with Toris, Raivis, Eduard, and Feliks. Alfred was with Matthew, Francis, and Arthur. Lovino stood with Antonio and Bella. She saw Kiku and Yao. Berwald was with Tino, Lukas, Emil, and Mathais. Even Peter was standing there with them. Absolutely everyone was there, and each of them held a small candle. Their eyes were closed and they faced the ground, their faces solemn.

Elizaveta sneezed and everyone looked up at her. Many of them had bloodshot eyes, and others' were rimmed in red and puffy. After a moment, they nodded at one another and made a clear, narrow path for her, leading right to the front door. She glanced at Lovino and Antonio, then at Francis and Arthur. Was this what they had been talking to Gilbert about yesterday? Was this why they bothered to come so far inland on the same day?

She looked down at her feet and slowly approached the front door. Gilbert's door was usually welcoming. Not today. She felt as if the air around the door was trying to keep her away, to turn her back around and send her home. It felt like it didn't want her to know what was inside.


	7. Chapter 7

Carefully, she grasped the cold metal doorknob and twisted it. She heard the click of the latch releasing, and she gently pushed the door open. It swung freely on its hinges, not squeaking at all. The hallway was dark, but she could see a bit of light from the stairway. She turned back one more time and looked out at everyone standing in the yard. They had returned to their original spot and were looking at the ground again, eyes closed. Everyone, except for two. Francis and Antonio were still looking up, watching her. As she made eye contact with them, it was clear that they were both dealing with an immense amount of pain. As Elizaveta turned away and quietly entered Gilbert's house, a single tear slid down Francis' face before he and Antonio joined the others and closed their eyes.

Elizaveta closed the heavy door behind her. She didn't feel right leaving it hang open. She hesitated for a moment before continuing to the stairway. At the bottom, she could see that the faint light came from the right side.

Her hand began to shake as she grasped the railing and lifted her right foot onto the first step. The gulped, and brought her left foot up onto the second step. Right, left. Right, left. Right left. Right, left. Her whole body was shaking now. The air in the house was just as warm as it was outside, but she still felt cold. Trying to focus on where she was going, she looked down the hallway to the right and saw the only room illuminated at all was the second one on the left. One tentative step after the other, Elizaveta made her way down the hall.

She stood outside the lit room, still facing down the hallway. She didn't want to turn. She didn't want to know what was waiting for her inside, but she knew that she had to look. She squeezed her eyes shut as tight as she could, and turned to face inside the doorway. Forcing herself to open her eyes again, she looked into the room that the small amount of light had brought her to.

Five backs faced her. She recognized all of them. A tall blond in a dark green uniform, a lightly tanned brunette with a distinctive curl in blue, another tall man with dark brown hair in purple, and two with shoulder length blond hair, one in a green uniform and the other in a pink dress with a purple bow. Ludwig, Feliciano, Roderich, Vash, and Lili. Each one of them appeared to be holding a candle of their own. One larger candle stood on a table on each side of the doorway, illuminating some of the hall and the stairway, bringing visitors to the correct room. On the left side table, there sat a second candle. This one was smaller, the same size as the others' candles. It was not white like the rest, though. This one was a light blue instead, and burned brighter than the candles held by her friends. She picked it up and held it close to her chest. She felt like the warm glow of the burning wick would keep her safe. Careful to make sure the candle stayed lit, she walked and stood next to Lili. In this room, no one had their heads down. They faced straight forward, their heads held high, their eyes closed. They faced a bed with Prussian blue blankets. Feliciano had tear stains on his cheeks, and Ludwig's frown was deeper than usual.

"He's been waiting for you, Elizaveta." Lili whispered to her. Elizaveta had no idea how the young girl had knows she was standing there, but nodded. She rounded the bed to the other side, facing the five standing there. As she reached the front of the bed, she kneeled down and set her candle down next to an identical one on the nightstand.

Gilbert's head rested on the pillow. He was pale and cold, his eyes closed and lips parted slightly. All the color had drained from his cheeks and his skin was almost as white as his hair. She felt tears well up in her eyes, but held them back. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and realized that the blanket was moving up and down. It was moving slowly, but it was moving. That's all that mattered to her.

"G-Gilbert?" she whispered to the Prussian lying before her. Slowly, his eyes opened. They were no longer shining. They were dull, the color not nearly as bright as the day before. He turned to look at her. He seemed to have to struggle to do it, the simplest movement a strain on his body. His voice was hardly more than a horse whisper when he managed to speak to her.

"Elizaveta." He smiled. "I knew that you'd come." Elizaveta let the tears that she had been holding back go. They ran down her cheeks and dripped onto Gilberts blankets. "Don't cry, my love." Gilbert said to her.

"You didn't tell me." She managed to choke out. Breathing was becoming difficult through the tears staining her face. She tried to calm down, but only gave herself the hiccups.

"I didn't want you to worry. I knew today was coming. Everyone knew today was coming. I just asked that they not tell you." He looked up into her deep green eyes. Her's sparkled with life while his were glazed over and dull.

Elizaveta spoke through her hiccups as the others stood watch over them.

"I don't want you to go." As she said this, her face scrunched up and she let the tears come faster. Her hiccups ceased and she clutched at Gilbert's blankets. He slowly lifted a shaking arm from under the covers and held it to Elizaveta. She took his freezing hand in her soft, warm ones. His fingers were clammy and sweaty, but she held on to them despite how they felt. She refused to let Gilbert go. It was too soon. It wasn't fair.

"I have to go. It wasn't my choice, but it's what I must do. Just remember one thing for me." His voice was quieter now.

"Y-yes, Gilbert?" Elizaveta wept.

"Just remember that I'll always be at your side, no matter what." Elizaveta tried to hold back her cries but couldn't manage to do it. With his free hand, Gilbert reached up and pulled the Iron cross from around his neck. He reached over Elizaveta and let the silver chain fall around her head and land at her shoulders. "I'll always be right here." He whispered.

Gilbert closed his eyes and Elizaveta squeezed his hand.

"Gilbert…" she whispered.

Then, he died.

The flower Elizaveta had tucked behind her headband was crinkled, dry, and brown. She stayed there on the floor, crying quietly, still holding Gilbert's hand in her's.

Ludwig was first. Without opening his eyes, he blew out the flame that had been dancing upon his candle. Feliciano did the same. Then Roderich. Then Vash. Then Lili. Outside, one by one, candles were blown out, filling the air with a pungent smoke. Ludwig and Roderich walked over to the doorway and blew out the larger candles as well. The only ones still lit were the blue ones, the candles belonging to Gilbert and Elizaveta.


	8. Chapter 8

Elizaveta awoke the next morning. Her candle had burned out. Gilbert's candle had burned out. Gilbert. She looked down at the bed. She must have fallen asleep after he… Left. The bed was empty. Elizaveta looked around. There was no one else in the room. Slowly, she stood and dragged herself down the hallway and down the stairs, out the front door. As she shoved the door open, she found the yard empty. Everyone had returned home, leaving only the imprints of their feet in the grass behind. Elizaveta felt tears slide town her cheek again. She wiped them away and sniffled, walking back home.

That was why her tires had been slashed. Someone didn't want her to get to Gilbert's house. Someone didn't want her to experience the pain surrounding his home.

She made it back home and trudged up her driveway. She bent over and retrieved the discarded keys from the bush, climbing the porch steps, unlocking the door, and letting herself inside. She didn't want to do anything. She didn't even want to change. She threw herself onto the couch and cried into a pillow. Her eyes were still puffy from last night, and her throat was sore, but she didn't care. She just wanted to cry. She wanted to cry into someone's arms, but now there was no one to comfort her. Bella would be helping Antonio through his own mourning, and Roderich wasn't sensitive enough. He'd probably just complain about her tears ruining his coat.

Suddenly, Elizaveta felt her stomach turn. She groaned and clutched her abdomen, sitting up and throwing her feet to the floor.

"Now I have to get up…" she moaned. She stood and ran up the stairs to the bathroom. She threw open the lid covering the toilet and threw up. There wasn't much in her system since she hadn't eaten since her picnic with Gilbert, and she ended up mostly dry heaving.

After she was done, she flushed and slammed the lid back into place before standing up and staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was tear stained, her eyes were puffy and rimmed in red, her hair was tangled and wild, and her headband was crooked. As she noticed something odd, Elizaveta leaned closer to the mirror. Her flower was different. It had been dead and brown yesterday, but now it was pink and soft. It looked just like it did the moment that Gilbert picked it for her on their picnic. She leaned back, confused, and saw another reflection in the mirror from the doorway. This reflection belonged to a man. His messy hair was white, his eyes a deep red, and on his face he wore a crooked smirk. Elizaveta spun around and quickly and screamed. It couldn't be him. He was dead!

"I'm back and here to stay, Lizzie." He said. Not moments after the words left Gilbert's lips, Elizaveta threw herself across the bathroom and into his chest, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tight. She began to laugh and sob and the same time as she spoke to him.

"Gilbert, you're back! You're back!" she cried. Gilbert smiled and returned her hug.

"I'm back." He said. Elizaveta looked up at him, smiling as tears ran down her raw cheeks.

"Come on, we have to tell everyone." She beamed at him before running down the stairs. He followed her, and as she ran into the kitchen and grabbed the phone, he turned and looked out of the front picture window. He smiled and waved before running off to join Elizaveta in the kitchen.

Outside, Germania felt a small smile creep onto his face. So this was the reason that Gilbert wanted to return so badly. Germania just shook his head and turned away from Elizaveta's home, fading in the warm sunlight of this bright afternoon.


End file.
